Flash

accomplished the task she could see that it had been well worth the effort.
    "Nice." She splayed her fingers across his flat belly and bent her head to kiss his shoulder. He felt warm and powerful and utterly male beneath her hands. "Very, very nice."
    "My turn."
    He rolled her over onto her back and peeled down the black and silver gown. The front clasp of her black lace bra came apart in his hands. He looked down at her breasts with an expression of stark wonder. Then he cupped her in his fingers and took a nipple very gently between his teeth.
    A luscious, liquid heat pooled in her lower body. A deep, tight urgency assailed her. Olivia closed her eyes as the exquisite sensations sizzled through her. Nothing had ever felt like this, she thought. Nothing. But all Jasper had done was kiss one breast. She would surely shatter into a gazillion stars if he did anything else.
    She put a hand over her mouth to muffle a tiny shriek.
    Jasper paused. "Are you okay?"
    "Yes." She could barely get the single word out between her lips. She reached up and clutched at him. Sank her fingers into his shoulders. "
Yes
."
    "Glad to hear it." His laugh was low and husky, more of a groan. He eased her dress off and hurled it out of the way. "You had me worried there for a minute. I told you, my timing isn't always the greatest when it comes to this kind of thing."
    "You took me by surprise, that's all." She sounded breathless. She could not help it. She
was
breathless. "It's been so long. I'm a little tense, I guess. I mean, I've been busy. You know how it is."
    "Yeah." He slid his warm hand slowly down over her stomach. "I know. You've been too busy, and I don't get out much. We're a real pair, aren't we?"
    She blushed, and then she giggled.
Giggled
. She never giggled. Olivia was mortified.
    By the time she had recovered, Jasper had his hand inside the waistband of her black lace panties. She shivered when she felt his gently probing finger. The bubbling laughter dissolved in a heartbeat. Excitement flared in its place. She knew she was already soaking wet.
    "This," Jasper said in reverent tones, "is the most amazing thing that's happened to me in a very long time."
    Olivia buried her face against his shoulder. He stroked her until she was so desperate that she began to nip gently at the muscle in his arm.
    Jasper rolled to the side for a moment. When he rolled back he had his pants off. Her mouth went dry as she watched him sheath himself in a condom.
    "Oh, my." She could not think of anything else to say.
    "Thank you." Jasper's eyes gleamed as he watched her stare at his erection. "It would have been a little disconcerting if you had started to giggle again."
    "This," she said, wrapping her fingers around him, "is no laughing matter."
    He gave a muffled exclamation and came down on top of her. Before she could even begin to orient her senses or prepare herself, he was easing slowly, deliberately, completely into her.
    The rhythm of her breathing altered abruptly as her body adjusted to the indescribable tension. She felt stretched, taut, full to the bursting point.
    When he was buried deep inside her, Jasper paused. He held himself unmoving. There was a sheen of dampness on his forehead. Olivia tentatively flexed her hands and realized that his shoulders were also slick with perspiration. He said nothing, but she knew that he was as riveted as she was by the moment.
    He started to move, slowly, at first, much too slowly. She could feel something within her trying to snap free. She dug her nails into his sleek back
    "Faster," she urged.
    "It feels good this way."
    She tried to force the pace. "Hurry."
    "Shush." He braced himself on his elbows and brushed his mouth lightly across her parted lips. "Cabin walls and doors are thin on a ship."
    She raked his back with her nails.
    His teeth flashed in the shadows. "I get the point."
    He changed the depth of his strokes, but he refused to quicken them. The unpredictability of his movements made her wild. She wanted to scream. She squeezed every muscle in her body, struggling to get control of the situation. A shudder went through Jasper.
    "You're going to make me crazy," he said against her throat
    "What do you think you're doing to me?"
    Jasper's shoulder grew slicker beneath her hands. His whole body was hot and wonderfully heavy. She squeezed her eyes shut as the tension of his maddeningly slow, incredibly deep thrusts built. She was almost afraid to breathe for fear the magic would go